Projects to fund community efforts to tackle weeds such as blackberry and gorse, provide practical land-management advice to small, new and absentee landholders and upgrade popular walking and cycling tracks have been funded through the latest round of the Victorian Government’s Victorian Landcare Grants Program
Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA) Landcare and Communities Manager Tony Kubeil said more than $260,000 of grants would fund 24 projects across the Catchment.
“These grants help community natural resource management groups carry out the on-ground works that help protect and improve the Catchment’s land, water and biodiversity,” Mr Kubeil said.
The projects funded are:
- Friends of the Marysville Walks - Narbethong Holly Control Program
- Upper Goulburn Landcare Network - Controlling pest plants and animals in the Murrindindi Shire; Environmental education for schools and community
- Turtles Australia - Lake Benalla Freshwater Turtles: preservation through conservation solutions
- South West Goulburn Landcare - FarmBlitz
- Fords Creek Landcare Group - Flourishing Fords Creek for Platypus Health
- Euroa Arboretum - Connecting kids to nature; and Gardens for Wildlife III
- Hughes Creek Catchment Collaborative - Develop a community-based weeds and wild feral animal control program
- Strathbogie Tableland Landcare Group - Strathbogie Township Bridge to Bridge trail extensions maintenance equipment project
- Strathbogie Ranges Conservation Management Network - Saving Bandicoots Saving Bogs; and Information and advice for new landholders
- Kyabram Urban Landcare Group – Year-round access into Ern Miles Reserve
- Gooram Valley Landcare Group - Rescuing and sustaining paddock trees (old and new) in a changing climate
- Granite Creeks Project - The Granite Creeks ongoing pest plant and animal control and maintenance of investments made
- Creightons Creek Landcare Group - Pest plant management and eradication (especially blackberry)
- Molyullah Tatong Land Management Group - Protection of remnant paddock trees
- Goulburn Murray Landcare Network - Matching farming to our landscapes; and Biodiversity Environment Aquatic Discovery - (BEAD)
- Glenaroua Land Management Group - Student + Mentor environment learning through propagation, protection and revegetation
- Up2Us Landcare Alliance - Mansfield's War on Weeds II; and Being culturally correct
- Gecko Clan - Turning dung to dirt
- Longwood Plains Conservation Management Network - Microcarpa Corridors
Mr Kubeil said another $10,500 of funding had been allocated to 21 groups to help them cover costs associated with day-to-day operations.
“The Goulburn Broken CMA understands that the best way to bring about practice change and deliver on-ground works to improve the environment and support productive and resilient communities is to work closely with landholders and the Catchment’s natural resource management groups,” Mr Kubeil said. “These grants are a great way to do that - they support communities to address the environmental issues they have identified as important. Each group’s effort in their own ‘backyard’ contributes to environmental, social and economic improvements that benefit the entire Catchment.”
For more information, contact Tony Kubeil on 0408 597 213 or tonyk@gbcma.vic.gov.au